Last Week, Part 4

Everyone comes out when they feel its the right time. And it's really hard to judge them -as if you should, but it is human nature - when it seems that they hide it longer than they should've.

Now, I have only known him for the 2 1/2 years I've worked on the HF Productions -Hidden Frontier, Odyssey and The Helena Chronicles. As noted in part three, after a great day at Universal Studios and dinner at Planet Hollywood, a few of us discovered a co-worker on our production had outed him self on the HF forums.

I kinda pride myself on having good gaydar. I sometimes can even detect really closeted guys. But I got to tell you, I was a bit surprised when he wrote about it. I never suspected for one minute the Woz was gay. Nope. Sorry, did not see that coming.

He had his reasons for not telling his friends at HF, but I pondered the idea that if there was one place Woz could come out, it was at HF. Most of the crew is gay, along with a few actors on Odyssey and Helena Chronicles.

And while I'm curious at what made him finally say those words, I know its none of my buisness. He's a great person, and I like him. He's smart as a whip, and loves all the straight guy stuff like explosions and movies that make little sense, script wise.

And shock of all shock, he's never seen Steel Magnolias. Oh well, that's another stereotype shot to hell.

So, anyways, got home last Monday from Universal and went online to forums to read what Woz had said. I posted a supporting comment and finally crawled into bed at about 1am. Slept pretty good, and was up at 6 to get ready to go to Disneyland.

At first, it was awkward. Woz was there, and I certainly did not want to make a big deal out of it, but you could tell ow -but some noticed at Universal - that Woz was much more relaxed, as if announcing his gay thing, he had lifted a burden. Which, in a way, he did. Most gay men who do this, usually feel better; the weight of the world type crap, you know.

It was a fun day at Disneyland. There was a feel things that went wrong -tons of standing deciding what ride we were going to do next - and a few high school style issues of who was the cool kids, but overall an entertaining day.

I like Disneyland, and should get a year-round tickets, as I'm less than half-hour away from the place.

So, that was June 3 through the 10th. 7 days of little sleep, some surprises and a week I'll never forget. We finished filming Operation Beta Sheild, started work on Star Trek: Federation One and a few people started some relationships.

Gotta love living here.

Excelsior Ball II: Day 3

Finally I fell asleep at about 6 am, and got 3 ½ hours of it.

After getting John out of bed, cause he wanted to see the rough cut of Star Trek: Intrepid, I showered, packed and got to the room by just as the Scottish production was getting underway. It was just as impressive as what we’ve done on HF, with impressive FX and beautiful location work.

Visited Will, purchased JayTee’s Begging for Shorts, his compilation of all his short films, including the award winners Masturbation: Putting the Fun into Self-Loving, Drag Queen Heist and Begging for Change. Two other shorts, Sunflower and the one I worked on, And The Award Goes To...are also included on the DVD. Commentary on all the shorts is a nice bonus, plus a sweet Easter egg that brought a tear to my eye.

After another forum on technical stuff about HF, I was on the final forum with the cast talking about the final episode, It’s Hour Come Around At Last.

Then Andrew presented the fan “Favorite” section of the convention, with Favorite Villainous scene coming from my first episode I directed, The Center Cannot Hold. I had issues with that scene, and Becky, Bobby and the rest of the cast tried to make it work as scary, and less scene chewing. It wasn’t until Becky herself came up with the idea to lick Ro, did the scene finely pop.

Thanks for that, guys and girls.

As the end drew near, I sensed some did not want to leave. Rob gave a heartfelt speech and said his goodbye until next year (in which we need to find a new title for this shindig). As clean-up began, as goodbyes were said, I finally had to admit I was tired, and took off with Dale in tow.

To Barb, Karl, Alex, Katie, Jonathan, Jason, Wendy, Mike H, Mike U, Mike J and, of course Will, I hope to see you next year. To the rest, Rob, Beo, Bobby, Risha, Dave D., Wayne, Julia, Carlos, Matt, Barb, JT, Adam, John, Dan, Sharon, Heather, Sam, Dave M, I’ll be seeing you all soon (well, some of you).

And Rob, a special thanks for the letting me become part of the magic that was Hidden Frontier and the future that is Odyssey and beyond. You are an inspiration to me and a true friend.

And to the fans, thanks for supporting the cast and crew of Hidden Frontier.

To be continued...in 2008.

Excelsior Ball II: Days 1 and 2

So, arrived at the hotel with Heather (who came with me after a package Rob was expecting was not arriving at the right moment) and Dale on Friday at about 5:20 -after a tortuous 2 hr drive from Rob and Beo’s (because, in theory, that trip should’ve taken not more than an hour. But we are talking LA traffic and theory usually gets thrown out the window with the bath water).

Walked into the bar and right in the arms of Will. I missed seeing him (as we spent a great time together at EB I) and if there is one person that can bring a smile to my face, its our Xanxan. I met Ste and Andrew - who, of course, I’ve seen every month since October. Not that I’m complaining. He is also the darling of the convention, and one of the most organized persons I’ve ever met. He is a master juggler and deserves all the kudos -and some additional donations - to making EB II the huge success it was.

The rest of the crew and cast began to slid in and got to meet fans such as Jamie, Daniel, Rick, and Joshua. Mike Johns (who has this fly car), Will and I went to the Rite Aid to get some beer, cause it was expensive to drink in the hotel bar.

I stayed the first night at Dan Crout’s house, getting there (after a brief “oops, shouldn’t have I turned here?”) at about 10:30. John Whiting joined us a little over an hour later (and after he went right instead of left). While waiting for John, Dan and I talked about writing, as I’ve decided I want to pitch a story idea. Dan gave me some great ideas.

So, I tried to sleep. I’m not one of those people who can fall asleep easily in strange places. I cannot sleep in moving vehicles, such as cars or airplanes. Plus, I need near silence of a grave yard to actually fall asleep. True, I do sleep with ear plugs, but that does not block out all the noise.

On the other hand, Mr. Whiting can fall asleep anywhere at the drop of hat.

So, Dan awakes us both at about 5:30 to get over to UCI for the shoot. I had decided not to shower because I had taken Joanne’s room (cause she had to drop out due to work) for Saturday night.

Like Dan and Beo have already said, the shoot on Saturday went off without a hitch. It amazes me the level of cooperation we got from the cast and crew and those loyal fans. And while the marine layer helped keep things cool for most of the shooting, by the time the clouds did lift its skirts to let the sun shine, we were near finishing.

And when the guys showed up with the stedi-cam, I think the day got more golden. The fans were delighted that they became so much apart of the shoot (and hopefully, not too much will be left on the editing room floor), and I was delighted for them, if only because only 14 months earlier, I was one sitting in the audience in awe of people like Rob, JT, Adam, Barbara, Bobby, Wayne, John, Dave Dial, Julia, Risha, and Sharon.

Anyhoo, the day was perfect and when we wrapped at noon, I think everyone was astonished at what we accomplished in that time.

I checked into my room after we returned from UCI and showered. It was great.

Went back down to the bar, where Will was and waited for the festivities to start at 3. Then it began, and people poured in: Barb, Karl, Alex, Beau, Katie, Sam, Jonathan, Wendy, Jason, Mike and many more. The panels started, the autograph line grew, and some people I only new as nicknames and silly avatars presented themselves as real people. I had always wondered what wickedwonder looked like, and then there was Wendy. The fact that she flew in from Indianapolis was cool. While she may not be a totally Midwest girl, I liked the idea that she was close enough from Chicago, that I could say I met someone close to where I used to live!

The other exciting thing of Saturday was dinner, which is getting a great deal of attention. So, because I came with Sam (who drove), James, Jonathan and Will, I tracked over to Gulliver’s. They put us outside, and as the sun went down, the aired cooled and it got chilly. Now the first thing you’ve got to know is, that since I moved here, I’ve teased a many of people who claim it gets so cold here. But, for the first time, I could say I was actually cold. Of course, I was dressed in a thin shirt, but still had jeans and my flip-flops on, but still.

So as most of the large group sat at bunch of put-together tables, James, Thomas, Will and I and then joined by Sam and Jonathan sat down for dinner. I had nothing, as I was trying to keep to my limits, but I’m glad I didn’t. The food took forever to get here, and then was way over priced. Still, it was fun listening to James, Will and Sam talk. I chimed in once in awhile, along with Thomas.

Got back in enough time to see the 7.08 rough cut. Though I had seen it back at the end of March, Rob and Dan had added many new effects. I still think its fabulous. Then we saw the preview of Odyssey, along with the opening credits. Got to say, I nearly peed in my pants. Very impressive teaser, and every time I hear the theme to Odyssey, it gets stuck in my head. All In a good way, of course.

We closed down and headed up to JayTee and Adams room for a DVD release party for his Begging for Shorts, a collection of his, well, shorts.

It was well after midnight when it began, and while we tried hard to keep the noise level down, well it was near impossible. So, after being asked to move, we all came back to the convention room and sat and talked and drank.

But by 2:30, I was tired and along with John Whiting -who was going to sleep in the bed next to mine -ambled up to the room.

It was to be a more or less, sleepless night.

To be concluded....

Sunday Evening

Back from Excelsior Ball II. Tired as hell. Full report will come in a day or so.

Odyssey begins production

The cast of Star Trek: Odyssey

Production has begun on this new fan created series, from the creators of Star Trek: Hidden Frontier. This past Wednesday (which is not normally when we lens), filming began under the direction of JT Tepnapa (Corey Astor on HF). Since I had to work -and I'm the Assistant Director on the "pilot", Illiad - Jenn Cole filled in for me until I got there at 3pm.

The shoot went rather smoothly -mostly because there was not that much make-up.

Tomorrow is EB II in Irvine.

Next shoot date will be 5/12.

official announcement